It is believed that two wheeled machines propelled by pushing with the feet against the ground were used in Egypt over 3,000 years ago but it was not until 1816 that a German inventor, Baron Kaul von Drais of Karlsruhe mounted the front wheel so that it could be moved from side to side and provided a handle so that steering could be more or less controlled. The forerunner of the bicycle was known as the Draisine. Handlebars, first made of wood were later made of metal tubing but changed very little from the Draisine, through the high-wheeler of 1861 and the "safety" bicycle invented in 1876 with the low profile of today's bicycle. The most recent development of recent times is the racing bicycle with the "dropped" handlebars but the handlebars continue to be made from metal tubing, wrapped with tape to give some measure of comfort.
New materials and methods have resulted in some improvement, but the bicycle as a whole has remained essentially an assembly of parts made by different manufacturers, which have been perfected only in degree since the early 1900's. Until the 1920's automobiles were similarly constructed of many standard parts. It then came to be realized by Henry Ford and others that if each component were designed with the total vehicle in mind, much could be done to lower the cost and improve the quality of the auto. The design of the steering and control member which is the subject of this application is part of a completely new bicycle invented by Applicant which follows this same approach.
While plastics continue to be increasingly used in the automobile in many parts, plastics have found little use in bicycles outside of the pedals and hand grips, even though the lighter weight and lower cost of plastics would seem to favor their adoption in bicycles where each pound of the bicycle has to be propelled by the exertion of human energy.
Although cost is a major factor to many people of the world in the purchase and use of bicycles, little has been done to reduce the number of parts. Moreover, the use of many parts requires relatively heavy and expensive connectors and the expenditure of time and skill in adjusting the relative positions of the parts to one another.
A summary of the characteristics of present bicycle steering and control members follows. A comparison with the features of the present invention can be made on a paragraph by paragraph basis by referring to the numbered paragraphs under "Summary of the Invention".